Ed summit: A three-day education summit called by Gov. Rick Scott ends with broad guidelines on student testing, school grading and evaluating teachers — but uncertainty about where they will lead. Palm Beach Post. Participants make plenty of promises, but don't offer solutions. Associated Press. The summit did little to quell unrest over Common Core or address other recent controversies, but at least it brought parent groups, teachers, school administrators and legislative leaders together. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. And there's a call to change the school grading system. Tampa Bay Times.
Common Core: Mary Jane Tappen, deputy chancellor for curriculum and instruction with the Florida Department of Education, will talk with Osceola parents about the new Common Core standards. Orlando Sentinel.
PARCC: Florida’s continued participation in PARCC is in doubt due to the concern that school districts don't have the computers and Internet bandwidth necessary to administer the online tests and that PARCC exams take twice as long as the FCATs they replace. StateImpact Florida.
Drug testing: The Miami-Dade County School Board will consider a random drug-testing policy following the federal probe into whether Biogenesis of America gave performance-enhancing drugs to student athletes. Miami Herald.
Rosh Hashanah: A St. Lucie County sophomore and his parents are upset that the school district won't allow students to take the day off for the Jewish holiday like some other districts. Instead, he has a test. TC Palm.
Class therapy: A therapy dog helps autistic students in Lake Wales focus in the classroom. The Ledger.
Reading buddy: Ann Scott, the governor's wife, visits a Port St. John elementary school to read to kindergarteners. Florida Today.
Afterschool: Many Collier County parents are still upset about the district's changes to afterschool activities. Naples Daily News.
Rick Scott's proposed budget. Includes $1.2 billion more for public schools. Coverage from South Florida Sun Sentinel, Gainesville Sun, Fort Myers News Press, TCPalm.com, Associated Press, Pensacola News Journal. "A relief to educators," reports the Lakeland Ledger.
Digital education. Jeb Bush on CNN's Schools of Thought Blog: "Digital learning is just one important element of the overall school choice movement being celebrated during National School Choice week – and rightfully so. There is no silver bullet. There is no one-size-fits-all option. There can and must be only a proliferation of ever-growing options so that students and parents can embrace whatever educational scenario is best for them."
Exposed, day two! The Tampa Bay Times plugs the Jeb-Bush-corporate-connections-conspiracy "story" by offering a link from the front of its web site to The Buzz, which channels the "news" from, of all places, The Answer Sheet blog, which The Buzz curiously describes as merely "the Washington Post's education blog."
PTA activism award. The Florida chapter is honored for successfully defeating parent trigger legislation last year. Gradebook.
School spending. The Brevard school board considers a bus fee for students in choice programs. Florida Today.
Teacher pay raises. A constitutional amendment for that is a bad idea. Palm Beach Post.
ESE changes in Hillsborough. Latest from Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune.
Concordant scores. They're out now. Tampa Bay Times.
PARCC. StateImpact Florida relays a DOE overview of the coming tests.
Superintendents. Manatee adds a sixth candidate, reports the Bradenton Herald and Sarasota Herald Tribune. Whoever he or she ultimately is "must have the skill set, character and strength to bring this district back from disaster," editorializes the Bradenton Herald.
Race to the Top. Florida is back on track a year after federal education officials warned it for falling behind on grant-funded projects. Associated Press.
